Strengthening the Team, Affirming Impact: The Spirit of CFES at the 2026 Annual Meeting

CFES held its 2026 Annual Meeting from Thursday to Saturday, January 8–10, 2026, at Jambuluwuk Convention Hall & Resort, Bogor, West Java. This annual event served as a strategic forum for the organization to strengthen internal consolidation while reaffirming CFES’s direction of work for 2026 under the theme “Solid Team, Meaningful Impact.”

More than a routine agenda, the 2026 Annual Meeting marked CFES’s starting point in building a stronger, more integrated, and impact-oriented foundation of work for communities and community forest management.

The series of activities began with a pre–work meeting held in December 2025. This stage became an important foundation in the process of drafting and compiling the work plans of all divisions, enabling discussions during the Annual Meeting to be more focused, in-depth, and grounded in the organization’s real needs.

On the first and second days, the agenda focused on technical sessions for drafting and presenting the compiled work plans of each division. Every division presented its 2026 work plan, aligned with organizational needs, budget planning, and the applicable reporting systems. This process served as a shared alignment space to ensure that all units move within a unified management framework and support one another.

The meeting opened with an orientation session delivered by Darmawan Liswanto, Chair of the CFES Board. In his remarks, Darmawan emphasized the importance of integrating work plans, budgets, and organizational management systems as a key factor in strengthening CFES’s performance going forward.

“Over the next three days, we will focus on finalizing the 2026 work plan. With a better-compiled work plan that is integrated with budget planning and reporting systems, the new SOPs are expected to become shared learning materials. We want to ensure that all parts of the organization move within a single management system, not operate independently,” said Darmawan.

The 2026 Annual Meeting was also CFES’s first annual agenda following the organizational restructuring carried out in mid-2025. As such, this forum played a strategic role in ensuring that the organization’s post-restructuring direction remains aligned with CFES’s vision, values, and objectives, while also strengthening the foundation of organizational governance going forward.

On the third day, the agenda focused on strengthening team cohesion through team-building activities in the form of outbound exercises. These activities were designed to enhance communication, build trust, and strengthen collaboration among CFES members, in line with the spirit of the chosen theme.

As a closing, Andjar Rafiastanto, CEO of Gaia Indonesia and a CFES member, expressed his appreciation for the planning process that had been carried out and his hopes for the implementation of work in 2026. He viewed the Annual Meeting as an important momentum to rebuild collective spirit in facing the various challenges ahead.

“2026 still holds many tasks waiting for us not only within CFES, but also in responding to community expectations of CFES’s various programs,” said Andjar.

He also emphasized the importance of maintaining the achievements attained throughout 2025 as a foundation for improving performance in 2026, including strengthening fieldwork and efforts to mobilize funding support.

“The hope is that in 2026, CFES will be increasingly active in the field, gain more support from partners and clients, and strengthen support for Community Forests that are ready to be accompanied,” he concluded.

Through the 2026 Annual Meeting, CFES reaffirmed its commitment to continuously strengthening internal collaboration, improving planning effectiveness, and expanding its positive impact on communities and community forest management in the coming year.